Voters have already begun to cast their ballots in New York City, where a closely-watched Democratic Party primary for the upcoming mayoral election has attracted attention across the country.

Polls open Tuesday following nine days of early voting that came to a close Sunday.

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The race, which is being led by Andrew Cuomo, a former governor and son of a former mayor promising establishment experience, and Zohran Mamdani, a young Democratic socialist state assembly member who has promised to tackle cost-of-living issues, has underscored ongoing debate about the future of the Democratic Party in New York and beyond.

The winner of the Democratic primary is considered the strong favourite to win the general election in November, with the current mayor deeply unpopular due to scandals and allegations of corruption, and the Republican candidate a long-shot in the firmly Democratic-leaning city.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is a Democrat, announced earlier this year he was opting out of the primaries to run as an independent.

The race has also brought attention to the city’s ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to rank several candidates in terms of preference rather than casting their vote for a single candidate.

What is the state of the race as voters head to the polls, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of ranked choice voting? We take a quick look at that and more.

When does voting take place?

The New York City Democratic mayoral primary takes place on June 24, with polls open from 6am to 9pm. Early voting took place between June 14 and June 22.

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Who are the candidates?

Cuomo and Mamdani are neck and neck in the polls, while a handful of additional candidates are competing to lead the country’s largest city as well.

Cuomo, a 67-year-old centrist former governor from a New York political dynasty, is attempting a return to political life after a report found that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women during his time as governor, prompting widespread calls for his resignation that he eventually succumbed to in 2021.

The former governor has pitched himself as an experienced figure most capable of guiding the city at a time when it is facing greater scrutiny from the federal government under the administration of United States President Donald Trump over questions such as immigration enforcement.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist and state legislator with an immigrant background, has run a campaign that was at first given low odds of success but has ticked steadily upwards as the young lawmaker makes an unflinchingly progressive pitch to voters. He has promised to shake up the city’s political establishment and institute policies such as a freeze on rent increases and free public buses.

While Cuomo and Mamdani have attracted the most national attention, they are not the only candidates running.

They include Comptroller Brad Lander; New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams; former Comptroller Scott Stringer; State Senator Jessica Ramos; State Senator Zellnor Myrie; Michael Blake, a political consultant and former state legislator; and Whitney Tilson, an investor.

Why has this race been so notable?

Befitting New York’s status as one of the world’s great cities, the race for mayor has included plenty of drama.

Cuomo’s attempted return to power after a previous fall from grace as governor, paired with Mamdani’s young and vibrant campaign with strong appeals to the city’s pluralistic identity, has created a stark contrast between competing visions for the city’s future.

Cuomo has been endorsed by centrist figures such as former President Bill Clinton, while Mamdani has won endorsements from progressive figures such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Conflict in the Middle East has also loomed large over the race. Cuomo, a firm supporter of Israel, has promised to crack down on anti-Semitism. Mamdani, an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, has spoken about receiving anti-Muslim death threats during the campaign.

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The Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement has also been a flash point. City officials and candidates reacted with anger last week when federal immigration agents temporarily arrested Lander, the city’s comptroller, while he was escorting a man outside of immigration court.

What does the most recent polling tell us?

Recent polls show a close contest between Mamdani and Cuomo.

An Emerson poll released on Monday shows Cuomo with 35 percent of the vote, Mamdani on the upswing with 33 percent, Lander with 13 percent, and Adrienne Adams in fourth, with 8 percent.

A previous Emerson poll in late May showed Cuomo with 34 percent, Mamdani with 22 percent, Lander with 10 percent, and Adrienne Adams with 8 percent.

A June poll by Marist shows Cuomo with 55 percent in the final round, beating Mamdani with 45 percent, while the Emerson poll shows Mamdani with 52 percent in the final round to Cuomo’s 48 percent.

When will we know the results?

Polls close at 9pm on Tuesday (01:00 GMT, Wednesday), and some preliminary data should be available within a few hours. But the final result will take longer to tabulate because of the city’s ranked-choice voting system.

Ranked choice tabulation does not begin until July 1, as the city waits for the arrival of all mail-in ballots. The official result will be certified on July 15, but could be known earlier.

What is ranked choice voting?

With ranked choice voting, people rank several candidates in terms of preference rather than selecting a single candidate.

While this is more complex than a traditional election, supporters argue that it allows voters to express their preferences without making an all-or-nothing decision with their vote.

In New York, voters rank as many as five candidates in order of their favourability. In the first round of vote-counting, only first choices are tallied. If one candidate receives a clear majority of more than 50 percent, they win the race outright.

But if not, the candidate who received the lowest number of first-choice votes is dropped, and the votes of those who ranked them first accrue to the second-choice pick on their ballots.

That process continues until only two candidates remain, with the one receiving the most votes winning.

What are its strengths?

Advocates of ranked choice voting say that it allows people to vote for the candidate that they like the most without worrying about their chances of winning.

If you like Mamdani and believe he is the candidate with the best chance of winning, but would prefer Lander, for example, you could rank Lander first and Mamdani second.

This way, people can go with the candidate that they identify with the most strongly without feeling like they are “throwing their vote away”: If your preferred candidate is knocked out, your votes can still accrue to the other candidates you have ranked and affect the outcome of the race.

Some also make the case that ranked choice makes it difficult for a candidate to win without some degree of broad support, since candidates benefit if they perform well not just with their own core of supporters but the supporters of several other candidates as well.

What are its weaknesses?

One drawback of the system is its complexity. Even voters who have participated in elections with ranked choice voting in the past can struggle to understand the implications of their rankings, although the concept of picking a series of candidates based on preference is simple enough.

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Some also believe that the process is less transparent, since a computer is tasked with tabulating and redistributing votes in each round, which also means that it is more difficult for traditional sources of election updates, such as news organisations, to follow developments.

Some errors also occurred when ranked choice voting was first used in New York City in 2021, adding confusion to the proceedings and bringing allegations that election authorities were not properly prepared to implement the new system. Officials will hope to avoid similar mishaps this time around.